In a world driven by trends, consumerism, fast fashion, rapid change, and the next social media update, good ideas can unfortunately quite often pass us unnoticed.
Although no official figures currently exist, Forbes magazine published an article in 2017 suggesting that we are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day. Fast forward to 2021, and the lower end of that total is said to have increased by a massive 33%. It is now suggested that we see an average of 6,000 to 10,000 ads each day!
As you can imagine, at some point, the mind is likely to simply stop responding to this overwhelming amount of external stimuli. We all have different ideas about the necessity and purpose of advertising. Some of us find ads annoying, while others welcome the chance to discover new and exciting products or ideas.
Personally, I think the global advertising system encourages healthy competition between businesses. This can ultimately lead to a reduction in product pricing as different companies compete to gain an advantage over one another. This can be of great benefit to poorer nations because it provides access to products that might have otherwise been too expensive to purchase.
Suppose this system eventually allows children from poorer nations access to education through affordable computers and internet access. In that case, indeed advertising is not all bad. I think that improved quality of goods would also be a byproduct of this competition as companies try and find a way to stand out from the crowd.
But, if we see literally thousands of adverts each day and the mind is filtering a large portion of these out of our experience, we may be all missing out on some genuinely great products and ideas. Recently I experienced how easy it is for a brilliant idea to have passed me by for a long time.
I was browsing the internet one evening and stumbled across an article about a company taking positive action in the battle against restoring bee populations. It is no secret that globally, bees are in severe decline, and the importance of this should not be dismissed.
A widely circulated quote supposedly attributed to Albert Einstein says, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Numerous articles are disputing the origin of this quote but, regardless of who said it, these words have the power to make us stop and consider the important role bees play in this world.
The bee faces difficulties on many fronts, one of these being habitat loss. In the UK, it is said 97% of native wildflower habitat has been lost since world war two. The late-night article I stumbled across was about this exact issue. As I started reading, I was introduced to a new idea alongside a great product from a brilliant company.
Beebombs Ltd is trying to do something about the dramatic decline in wildflower numbers through habitat recreation. They are not buying land or trying to re-wild farms; they are not telling us to change our habits or take time out of our busy schedules to become volunteer gardeners.
In a world where many people like to talk and share their opinions with all that will listen, Beebombs creates positive, affirmative action. They have considered a modernized population's lifestyles and designed a simple, easy-to-use solution that offers a powerful tool in solving a significant problem.
Beebombs are handmade seed balls that contain hundreds of seeds from a mix of 18 different British wildflower species. You don't require any gardening skills to use them. Just throw the Beebombs onto cleared soil, water, and wait!
Seed balls are not a new idea; it is an old concept first developed thousands of years ago. I think this is why I love the principle so much; it perfectly fits my personal ethos of ancient knowledge for modern living. I genuinely believe old ideas, knowledge, and philosophy rediscovered, rethought, and revitalised can offer answers to many of the monumental problems our society faces today.
The Beebombs company was founded in 2018. Although I think our advertising systems serve many good purposes, I believe a good idea like this should not pass us by among the vast crowd of ads we see daily. Bee populations are declining annually, and I would love to have discovered Beebombs years ago. This is why as soon as I read that late-night article, I found the company website and enquired if I could become a stockist.
Another quote we often hear is, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I often find myself thinking about this in my life, and I try to practice what I preach as much as possible. So, I choose to try and "Bee" the change I would like to see in this world, and Beebombs offer the perfect opportunity to do some of that.
However, I did not become a stockist of this beautiful product purely to talk about it and sell them. I want to go further, so alongside selling these individually, I will be trying to think up other ways to help build awareness of this brilliant idea. The first way in which I plan to do this is by giving away one bag of Beebombs free with every book and card set bought on my website for the foreseeable future.
If you would like to be a part of this exciting project and help to restore native British wildflower habitat please take a look at my SHOP where you can order Beebombs. :)
